One contract equals 1,000 barrels (159 m3). WTI crude futures are also traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) with the symbol T and priced in dollars and cents per barrel. It began futures trading on the NYMEX in 1983 with the symbol CL. WTI crude futures and options are the world's most actively traded energy product.

Due to its high-quality fuel and production within the country, WTI is refined mostly in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions in the United States. It is suitable for refining gasoline and other high-demand products. WTI crude oil is lighter and sweeter than Brent blend. It also is a sweet crude oil that contains approximately 0.24% of sulfur. WTI is a light crude oil with API gravity of around 39.6 and specific gravity of about 0.827. It is a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing and an underlying commodity of New York Mercantile Exchange's oil futures contracts. It is described as light and sweet crude oil because of its relatively low density and low sulfur content. and is sent via pipeline to Cushing, Oklahoma. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also known as Texas light sweet, represents local fundamentals for crude oil in the U.S.

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